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Monthly Archives: October 2013

As part of the National Institute for Challenging Homophobia Education’s tour of regional, rural and remote Australia, Daniel will travel to Bunbury WA for one week of challenging homophobia.

Thanks to the invitation and ongoing efforts of the Uniting Care West ‘True Colours’ project, Daniel Witthaus will spend the week starting 21st October with locals, working with students in local schools and working with teachers and health professionals.

Bunbury’s Helen Robinson (True Colours): “The Safer Schools Project are really looking forward to NICHE coming to Bunbury as we are well that homophobia is still experienced by our young people in schools and the wider community of Bunbury. Daniel’s knowledge and expertise would be harnessed through school visits and workshops, several opportunities to ‘have a cuppa’ with the community. We are also working with the Equal Opportunities Commission to host an event in Perth to announce the NICHE Tour. We are hoping that Daniel can provide the extra momentum for our program to really take hold in Bunbury and create further awareness of the need for safer schools.”

During the first half of 2013, Daniel Witthaus would on an LGBTI Inclusiveness Project with Western Region Health Centre (WRHC). Over 5 months, Daniel looked at what was working well, what barriers staff had to being more inclusive and implementing strategies. This work takes on extra significance because the organisation is in Melbourne’s west, which has often been subjected to an overestimation of homophobia and an underestimation of local responses to LGBTI communities.

The culmination was the ‘Through The Wobbly Bits’ report, launched by CEO Lyn Morgain and the WRHC LGBTI Working Group, A2Z. A range of recommendations will see WRHC leading the way in Australian health care that includes, supports and celebrates LGBTI communities across 19 sites and over 330 staff members.

In early September 2013, Daniel found himself in Shepparton to talk with Diversity, a group for LGBTI young people in the Greater Shepparton region. Delivered by Uniting Care-Cutting Edge (UCCE), a long-time supporter of LGBTI people in the north-west of Victoria, the night included toasted sandwiches, lots of stories and lots of laughs.

Leading up to the 2013 Federal Election, Daniel Witthaus joined an array of well-known and everyday individuals and couples to encourage people to Vote 4 Love, a campaign by Australian Marriage Equality.